


Starve

by spicyboyfriend



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, Claiming Bites, M/M, Medical Experimentation, Mental Coercion, Minor Character Death, Obsessive Behavior, Theme Day: Vampires, Vampires, unclear feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-17 11:02:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21053321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spicyboyfriend/pseuds/spicyboyfriend
Summary: It was dead silent. Not even the quiet chirps of beeping, or ambient music, or even the vent whirring in the background could be heard.At first, it seemed normal. The way the room was bare. Empty, except for six doors, encompassing every part of the wall in front of him. Jeno glanced between them, found only one with a red light lit up beneath a small sticker on the door.Lee Donghyuck,the sticker read.





	Starve

**Author's Note:**

> completely unbeta'd, hastily written over the span of like two nights. forgive mistakes or just general sloppiness!

Remembering details came easily to Jeno. He could remember his mother’s birthdate, or the day his sister jumped out from her balcony and landed on Jeno, breaking his leg. He could remember all the times his father came home too late from work, after promising to be home on time, or how he always had a weird crush on his friend from elementary school.

There were plenty of things Jeno could list, so long as his memory allowed, but there was one memory he was sure he’d remember until the day he died.

It happened a few months into his internship at the research facility his father worked at. Jeno had only ever been inside a few times, but he remembered the layout like the back of his hand. He could navigate the halls without getting lost even the first time. This bode well for his application to be an intern there, and before he knew it, Jeno was practically promised a job, so long as he could navigate his university work with his internship. The company even offered to pay for his student expenses. All in all, it was quite the deal— one Jeno would be an absolute idiot to pass up.

Somebody asked Jeno something along the lines of  _ could you scan, copy, and staple these packets for me, thanks,  _ and sure enough, Jeno found himself wandering the halls, turning the same familiar path he had mapped out to get to the copier. Nothing unusual there. All in all, it was a normal day. 

Jeno punched in the numbers for the copier, pulled the staples out of the packet he had, and waited patiently for the machine to finish its work. He dared a glance at the clock. It was nearing 7pm. The more time Jeno spent at the company, the more he understood why his father consistently came home late when he worked there.

After the copier finished spitting papers out one by arduous one, Jeno carried them to the stapler opposite the room, catching a glimpse of a few other employees running down the hall. One was pulling on a white jacket, the ones only researchers used. But... there weren’t any research rooms at the end of the hall. Jeno furrowed his brows, but shrugged it off. After all, there were definitely parts of this company Jeno wasn’t allowed in quite yet. Just because he was going to school for biochemistry and microbiology, didn’t mean that he was trusted with all the...  _ confidential  _ details.

Once he finished up this task, Jeno would head home, heat up some leftover takeout from the night before, and watch his favorite TV show, which he recorded since he knew he’d end up staying late at work. Things would go as they always did. They should have, anyway.

When Jeno noticed another group of people running down the hall, he had to sneak a peek at where they were going. Poking his head past the door, Jeno glanced to the right, and found the researcher team pulling their coats on, while one simply pulled a keycard from his pocket, scanned it at a small machine in the wall, before the doors in front of them slid open— and Jeno hadn’t even  _ noticed  _ there were doors at the end of the hall. Before Jeno could even sneak a glance inside, the doors were closed, and Jeno was left in the silence of the hallway once more.

Probably nothing he should stick his nose in. Jeno decided to pretend he didn’t notice for now. Maybe he could ask his dad another time.

Jeno finished stapling the packets, took them back to his supervisor, and headed home for some reheated takeout and his favorite TV show. Once he washed his face and brushed his teeth, he laid down in bed, stared at the ceiling, and wondered just what it was those researchers were running towards. He wanted to know. A part of him wanted to run towards it, too.

  
  
  


At the end of the week, Jeno’s parents invited him out to dinner, which meant meeting up with his brothers as well. It wasn’t that Jeno particularly minded having dinner with them, but they usually ended up fighting by the end of the night, and for obvious reasons, he didn’t look forward to that. He sucked it up and agreed to dinner for now, though, taking his wallet with him just in case his brothers gave him grief for being a freeloader or something like that. He was more than capable of paying for his own meals. Jeno’s sister was probably the only one who had the right idea, as she had been estranged from the family since she turned 19. 

Jeno arrived earliest of everybody, bowing his head when his parents walked in, shortly followed by his two older brothers, both of which gave Jeno a short laugh and a shove to the shoulder as they headed to sit down. Being the youngest had its perks sometimes, but most of the time, it was just a big excuse for his brothers to wail on him whenever they felt like.

“How is the internship going?” his mother asked, as Jeno perked up and gave her a quick smile.

“It’s going well. I’ve adapted quickly in the workplace, and it seems like they’re excited to have me there permanently, at some point.” Jeno paused to look at his father, who seemed... proud. That was close enough to the word he was searching for. His father wasn’t one to lay the praise on thick. Nobody in his family was, really. “I still have plenty to learn, but I’m feeling very comfortable there.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get comfortable too quick,” one of his brothers remarked, shooting Jeno a quick look across the table. “All it takes is for dad to decide he doesn’t want you around anymore, and you’ll be out of there.”

“That’s enough,” their father interjected, as Jeno looked down at the empty plate in front of him. This was exactly why he didn’t want to come out for dinner. Not after the internship. Not with his brothers.

Still, he sucked it up, waited for their food to arrive, and quietly finished his helping, while his mother ordered food for each of her sons to take home afterwards.

  
  
  


At the end of the meal, once everybody was well fed, and Jeno’s two older brothers were heading out to their cars, Jeno stopped his father. Now that he wanted to bring up the odd sliding doors at work, Jeno realized just how crazy he sounded— asking about it like it was some big secret or something like that. It was just a big facility, and as much as Jeno wanted to pretend like working there was just another day on the clock, they  _ did  _ deal with organisms often; deadly organisms, diseases, how they functioned with animals, how they  _ affected  _ humans in testing. It was a very serious job.

So asking about the doors made Jeno feel silly, but he had to do it anyway. To quell his curiosity, he asked.

“I was copying some papers on the first floor, and I noticed two groups of men running to the end of the hall. They had to scan some card to get in behind the doors. Do you know where the doors lead?”

Jeno’s father took a moment to read his son’s face, before humming and shaking his head.

“Nothing you need to know about just yet.”

O...kay. Definitely not the answer Jeno was expecting, and certainly not something his father would say. If it wasn’t any of his business, he would say so. Jeno pressed just a bit more.

“I know I’m just an intern, but I don’t remember having a tour of that place. Is it for contagious viruses, or is it just someplace we’re not allowed?”

“There are things you need to know in your internship, and things you need to know in your job,” his father stated matter-of-factly. “Remember your place. You copy papers, and you bring coffee, and sometimes you may be asked to relay important messages, but this is not your career yet.”

Jeno swallowed hard against the ball in his throat, not daring to look to his father for answers any longer. That was his father’s polite way of saying  _ quit sticking your nose in places it doesn’t belong,  _ and Jeno could tell if he said anymore, he just might get the treatment his brothers were talking about. So Jeno simply nodded, thanked his parents for the meal, and headed home, despite their offers to drive him back to his flat. He was capable.

That night, Jeno did the same as he did other nights. Ate some reheated food, caught the newscast, since his show hadn’t released a new episode yet, and laid down after washing his face and brushing his teeth. And he wondered once more about those doors at the end of the hall. If his father couldn’t give him the answers he wanted, Jeno supposed he’d have to turn somewhere else. He surely couldn’t ask any of his coworkers, and god forbid, his supervisors. He had a feeling he’d be canned the second he even thought about it in their presence.

No, this was definitely something he’d have to figure out on his own. And he would.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Don’t you think you’re being a little nosy?”

Jeno deflated at the sound of his friend, Mark, and the way his response seemed so utterly lackluster. He sighed and slumped back in his seat.

“I wanted to tell you about some hidden part of the research facility I work at, and your response is just to call me nosy,” said Jeno, incredulous.

“Hey, I’m just trying to look at it from your dad’s point of view. I mean, he did basically tell you to mind your business. Are you even supposed to tell me about this stuff, or did you just tell me and break, like, a bunch of rules?”

“Nobody’s gonna believe you if said this, though. Everyone would just be like, ‘Oh, Mark is so crazy, talking about a hidden sector of a research facility. Everyone says that stuff, haha!’ But when  _ I  _ talk about it, it’s a whole different thing.”

“Cool, I’ll just pretend like you didn’t take a shot at my credibility. Anyway, I think your dad is right. Don’t stick your nose in places it doesn’t belong, and keep your head down. Aren’t you supposed to be getting a job at that place anyways? How are you going to do that if you’re treating this place like they’re doing something wrong by having a secret part you’re not allowed to look at?”

Jeno scowled at that, wanted to snap back at Mark for what he said, but he knew Mark was coming from a place of concern more than he was a place of condescension or annoyance. More often than not, Mark was genuinely worried about his friends, really cared about their livelihoods, but just couldn’t find the right words for the things he wanted to say all the time. Jeno could get that, he guessed. Jeno was never one to go against what people expected of him. Everything Mark was saying sounded like things he knew he should do, just so he didn’t inconvenience anybody.

But the curiosity of that room just got the better of him, and the more he let it rattle around his brain, the more Jeno just had to know what was down that hall.

“Hello?” Mark said, waving his hand in front of Jeno’s face. Jeno hummed, before nodding and giving Mark a short smile.

“You’re right. Sorry, I spaced out for a second. Anyways, I just wanted to share that with you. There’s not a lot of interesting stuff going on there. Hey, how’s your whole music thing going? You said you got in touch with some recruiting agents last I talked to you. Are you planning on abandoning me in school so you can go off and be some rich and famous idol? Not cool.”

Mark couldn’t help letting out an ugly laugh at that, the two of them sputtering through laughter and embarrassed smiles, while the others customers glanced at them, rolled their eyes, and looked away, while the two of them teased and joked the rest of their time together away.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Jeno waited for anything. Another chance to see a group of researchers running down that hall once more, or even seeing one walking back, or maybe pressing his father on it once more to see if he had let up on his strict rules just to give Jeno a minor explanation of what it was... he waited so long, and no answers were given. 

Truth be told, he had mostly given up holding out hope. Jeno had to admit at the end of the day that Mark was right: he probably wouldn’t find out what it was, and he was just being nosy for the sake of being nosy. Those things behind the door clearly had nothing to do with the work he was doing. If he didn’t know about it already, then maybe he shouldn’t know about it. There were a lot of things that could have been said about whatever was behind those doors. All Jeno had to say about it now was, if he never caught a glimpse of it for as long as he worked there, then so be it, he supposed.

When his curiosity got the best of him, Jeno did walk over and press his ear to the doors, just once or twice. Just to see if he could hear just a whisper, just a small voice, so he could reaffirm that he wasn’t crazy, he  _ did  _ see people go behind those doors, he  _ knew  _ he did!

Other than that, Jeno resigned himself to his normal life. The normal way of doing things. Keeping his head down and making his parents as proud as he could. He hoped they were proud. God, he hoped.

That meant doing well, and going back to not asking weird questions, and not wondering what it took to get one of those keycards with access to the research facility. What it meant to have the passage through those doors.... Whatever was behind them must have been valuable.

It was one afternoon, as Jeno was delivering coffee and asking for projects his coworkers needed help with, that Jeno recognized one of the researchers who had been heading down the hallway that same day— pulling on a white research coat and disappearing behind those strange doors. 

The research facility had many top researchers, but one of the greatest was a relatively quiet man, apparently living in Seoul from a small city in China. Jeno couldn’t remember all the details, but he knew Qian Kun was notorious for being the most meticulous, detail driven, headstrong researchers in the facility. He ruled his team with a gentle fist, never raised his voice or got angry for anything.

Jeno recognized him as one of the researchers running back through those double sliding doors, and that only piqued his interest  _ more.  _ What could Qian Kun be running so urgently to? It clearly wasn’t anything infectious, but Jeno wanted to know so badly, it was practically driving him crazy at this point. He was obsessed with every detail of finding out. Maybe a part of him was so driven towards it simply because he was told he  _ couldn’t  _ know about it. Honestly, that might’ve been it.

And really, all Jeno wanted to do that night was ask Kun what it took to get to that level— how long it would be before Jeno had his own special keycard that allowed him access to parts of the facility he wasn’t allowed yet. Of course, he wouldn’t  _ word  _ it that way, but he’d find a way to ask.

But as he turned the corner to knock on Qian Kun’s office doors, he found a small card sitting just a few feet away from his door. Jeno crouched down to pick it up, along with a few stray pens and pieces of paper. These... looked important, Jeno supposed. He picked them all up in his arms, examining each one, before scanning the card, and finding a set of lines at the bottom— a barcode. His eyes went wide at the sight, before turning it to find Qian Kun’s face on the other side, his white teeth glimmering in the grinning shot of himself.

A... keycard....

Just as Jeno flipped the card over and rose to his feet, the door opened. Jeno stuffed his right hand in his pocket without realizing he had done so, quickly jerking it back out sans the card, and found himself holding the pile of garbage in his arms. Qian Kun looked out of the hallway at him, before giving him a short smile.

“Sorry. I got an emergency phone call, and these things must have fallen out of my jacket. Thanks for picking them up.”

Jeno couldn’t tell if he was starstruck, or sick to his stomach, as he nodded and held the pile of things out to Kun. Kun seemed wary for a moment, quirking a brow at Jeno and taking his things out of his hands, before speaking up.

“Your name?”

“O-oh! It’s Lee Jeno. That’s my name, I’m—”

“Ah, you’re the professor’s son,” Kun said, bowing just slightly. At this, Jeno bowed deeply, more than he did even for his parents. Keep it casual, bud. “Nice to meet you. I’m Qian Kun, head researcher for sector 13.”

“I... I know,” Jeno said, for lack of a better thing to say. Maybe a part of him was a little starstruck.

“Well, thanks for picking up my things. Next time you see me around, just give me a wave. I don’t bite.”

At this, Kun smiled once more at Jeno, headed back into his office, and closed the door behind him. Jeno’s fingers trembled at his side, as he turned on his heel and headed straight for the nearest restroom, where he ran down the line of stalls, checking each and every last one, before hiding in the last stall, and pulling out the keycard. 

Now that he could see it in better lighting, it was a pristine, untouched white. Kun’s smile really was blindingly perfect. Jeno brushed his thumb over the barcode, felt the texture of each stripe against his thumb, before letting out a shuddering sigh he didn’t realize he had been holding in.

This was... a keycard. And not just any keycard, but the exact one Jeno had seen in use that night, at those doors. Hell, he could’ve run right over there now and scanned it, just ran in and caught a glimpse of it. But if he was going to do this, he’d have to be smart about it. He’d have to ensure there was nobody else here. There were security officers around the building almost all night, though, He would never be able to leave and come back in after hours.

The door to the bathroom swung open, followed by a couple voices, two men talking about their latest research projects. Jeno took this as a chance to run, opening the stall door and slipping out once they were already preoccupied. As he headed down the hall, card stuffed back in his pocket once more, he wondered just how he was going to pull this off.

He’d have to decide by the end of the day, before Kun noticed his keycard was gone. If he took any longer than that, the card may get deactivated, or worse, Kun would suspect he had been the one to take it. Then what would he do? Get fired, shame his father, ruin his relationship with his family, and end up just like his brothers? No, thank you.

Swallowing his fear, Jeno decided to head back to his small cubicle, to think about how he’d approach the Herculean task in front of him. He was going to do it.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Hiding in a research facility sounded a lot easier on paper than it did in action. The more places Jeno thought to hide, the more he found he wanted to kick himself for even thinking it was a decent place to hide. The facility had security officers at night as well, so it wasn’t like Jeno could just hang around anywhere until he decided it was time to leave.

For now, Jeno opted to stay back in his cubicle, feigning work by typing, deleting, and retyping the same couple sentences on a word document. A part of him felt crazy for doing all of this just to see what was behind the double doors, but he was sure once he saw there was nothing  _ that  _ interesting behind the door, he’d be able to go back to his normal life, his normal activities. Damn that door for being so interesting for so long.

Then, at 7pm, while others were still staying behind, Jeno rose from his desk, bowed to his coworkers, and wished them luck with their projects. They said they’d be gone soon after he was, waved him goodbye, and watched as Jeno clocked out. But Jeno didn’t leave. 

Instead, he walked downstairs, careful not to use the elevators, and carefully snuck into Qian Kun’s office. It was empty, opened up easily for the keycard, as Jeno snuck in and set his computer bag down beside the desk. It was dark, the blinds on the windows of the office tightly closed to keep all the light out, to keep intruders out. Jeno felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of his belly, but waved it off. He had things he wanted to find out. There was no time for guilt now.

Waiting out his coworkers was easy. Jeno hid underneath the desk with his phone in his lap, played games and texted Mark. Mark asked if he wanted to go out for dinner after Mark finished practice, but Jeno had to lie and say he already had plans, despite the disbelieving way Mark said it was fine and they’d just have to catch up for dinner some other time. More guilt. Whatever was behind those doors better be worth it, that’s all Jeno had to say.

Nodding off every now and again, by the time Jeno realized the coast was clear, it was past 10pm. The security guards had made their first rounds, stopping by Kun’s office and poking their flashlights against the windows, before silently plodding away, their footsteps loud in the otherwise empty office.

Jeno scooted out from underneath Kun’s desk, carefully crouching down towards the windows and opening the door just a crack. Outside, nobody waited for him. All Jeno found was the silence of the halls, the reminder that all of this was  _ very  _ wrong and  _ extremely  _ dangerous. 

Still, Jeno gathered himself long enough to find his way downstairs. He narrowly avoided a security officer stepping out from behind a hallway wall, as Jeno pressed himself up against a door and waited for him to leave. Jeno felt like he could hear his heartbeat in his ears, feel it pulsing in his throat. God, this was so fucking much.

At the end of the hallway on the first floor, Jeno found himself facing those double doors. Fishing the keycard from his pocket, he quickly scanned the barcode, and the doors opened up just a moment after. Practically noiseless, Jeno took one last scanning glance behind himself, as if searching for the one person who was going to stop him, keep him from making what could have been the biggest mistake of his life.

But there was nobody. It was just him, and his curiosity, and these two doors open in front of him, waiting to eat him right up with the rest of the secrets in the building.

Taking the first step in, Jeno looked around, took the next step in, looked at his feet to make sure he was still grounded. With the way his heart was fluttering, he would’ve thought he was floating or something.

It was dead silent. Not even the quiet chirps of beeping, or ambient music, or even the vent whirring in the background could be heard. It was Jeno, breathing off kilter. The door behind him sliding shut. The lights coming to life and flashing awake, as Jeno looked around.

At first, it seemed normal. The way the room was bare. Empty, except for six doors, encompassing every part of the wall in front of him. Jeno glanced between them, found only one with a red light lit up beneath a small sticker on the door.

_ Lee Donghyuck, _ the sticker read.

Jeno took a cautious step forward, dropping the keycard at his side and walking to the door. Strangely, he felt beckoned towards the door, like he was meant to see what was behind it— and reasonably so. He had been waiting so long for this already. Whatever, or should he say, whoever it was behind the door, must have been someone amazing for the facility to keep hidden.

Jeno didn’t need the keycard to open up this door. As soon as he took a step towards it, the door opened up, and Jeno easily followed the corridor as far as it went, before finally reaching... an observation room. There were plenty of these in the entire facility. As a matter of fact, Jeno had been in one earlier today, taking notes as a scribe while his supervisor and professor had been studying the effects a bacteria had in the animals they were testing on.

Behind all these doors were just... more observation rooms? Was that really what they had spent all that time and effort hiding? Jeno couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed, as he stopped at the front of the observation room. Just who was “Lee Donghyuck” supposed to be, anyways? Was that just a stupid name for one of the rabbits they kept in the facility to test on, or what? Jeno couldn’t help his discontent.

The only thing Jeno could give this observation room was that it was definitely bigger than any of the others. Taking a step in, Jeno looked around the room. It was huge. Why so spacious, if only select people were allowed in? Doctors were weird people sometimes, Jeno thought, before turning to face the looking glass. On the other side, it appeared as a two-way mirror. Jeno supposed that helped if they ever used human subjects, though it was rare.

Jeno’s heart skipped a bit when he noticed a figure in the corner of the observation room looking glass. He licked his lips suddenly, realized how dry and chapped they were. He had spent so much time chewing the dry skin, he didn’t even realize how awful they looked. And despite his best efforts, his hands were trembling, as he took a wary step forward, to the looking glass.

The figure didn’t move. On the contrary, it seemed completely disinterested in moving, even as Jeno set his hand on the glass, thought of tapping or knocking just to get them to move. At least, now, Jeno could tell it was a human, and not just a rabbit or a mouse the scientists liked to name every now and again.

But why was a human behind these doors? Hidden away like some taboo secret.... Jeno looked at the person in the corner of the room again. They hadn’t moved. Maybe a knock would get their attention?

Hesitantly, Jeno tapped his knuckles against the window.

The figure inside twitched, as if suddenly waking from sleep. Jeno pulled his hand back from the window the way a child would if they saw a dog running straight for the food in their hands. He wanted to knock again, but if this person was... aggressive, or even the slightest bit infectious, Jeno shouldn’t have had any contact with them anyways.

A part of him just couldn’t help it, though, as he brought his knuckles down on the glass and knocked properly.

Within a second, the figure in the corner of the room had completely sat up, pulling their hoodie off and blinking their eyes awake at the sight of somebody new, somebody different in front of the windows. Warily, the figure moved. Jeno could barely catch a glimpse of any characteristics, any identifying marks. Their hoodie kept them well hidden.

Glancing around the room, Jeno finally found the microphone the other researchers would use to talk into the rooms, usually to other researchers— not to the subjects they were studying. Jeno’s stomach twisted as he grabbed it, pressed the small button at the base of it, and spoke into the mic.

“Hello?”

The figure startled at the sound of his voice, but looked up at the ceiling, before glancing once more at the window. It was only after a moment that Jeno realized the window was a mirror to the person on the inside. It was completely possible that they had no idea Jeno was looking in on him. Well... now he just felt creepy.

“Do you know where you are?”

Jeno tried his best to seem kind, but there was only so much he could do for this stranger.

“Do you know how long you have been in this facility?”

The figure only took a few more cautious steps towards the glass. After a moment, they pulled their hoodie off, finally revealing their face.

“You’re... just a kid.”

Jeno knew it was out of place to say something like that. After all, Jeno himself wasn’t all that old, despite his looks, but this person really looked like he had just graduated from high school, or barely that. His cheeks were plump, supple, and his skin had a radiant glow to it. When his eyes searched the glass in front of him for any sort of movement, Jeno waved his hand in front of it. The figure didn’t respond.

“What is your name?”

Jeno expected silence following his question again. After all, this kid seemingly had no interest in answering him so far.

“Lee.... Lee Donghyuck.”

Honestly, Jeno didn’t know what other answer he expected. At least they were speaking the same language. That was something.

“Lee Donghyuck. How old are you?”

“Shouldn’t you know this already?”

Hm. That took Jeno aback just a bit. He didn’t expect Donghyuck to clock him for a stranger so quickly. Better wrap this up. If Donghyuck mentioned somebody bothering him in afterhours, the others might have had a chance to track Jeno down and fire him for breaking... basically every rule.

“This is fun,” Donghyuck started, his voice soft against the harsh crackle of the radio static, as Jeno held his breath, “but I’m not planning on staying here for much longer.”

“What do you mean?” Jeno said.

“Your little group may have captured me on a bad night, I’ll admit, but I don’t feel like staying here any longer.” Donghyuck cracked his neck, taking one last step towards the mirror, squinting his eyes, before they seemingly landed on Jeno, staring at him. He lifted his hand from his side and waved shortly. “Since you refuse to feed me, there’s no reason for me to stay here.”

“What are you talking about?” Jeno said, hardly trying to keep his act up anymore. Donghyuck snorted at this.

“You.... You’re not one of them.” Donghyuck hummed. “I should have known. Your scent was different.”

“Answer my question. What do you mean—”

“What do you _think _I mean?” Donghyuck hissed suddenly, made Jeno shiver as he swallowed hard. “I mean it has been nice pretending to be a good test subject for your stupid research, but I’m famished, and I don’t want to _play _anymore.” Donghyuck leaned forward, tip-toed his fingers against the glass. “What’s your name?”

Despite every part of Jeno protesting, telling him not to answer, there was something... enticing about this conversation. Jeno couldn’t help it, felt like it was being pulled out of him.

“Jeno,” he said, voice soft over the microphone crackle.

“You  _ are  _ different from the rest of them,” Donghyuck remarked. “Interesting. You must have snuck in here, to see me.”

If Jeno could manage it at the moment, he felt like he would have blushed with embarrassment.

“Maybe I will stick around for just a bit,” Donghyuck said, cocking his head as Jeno did so. Jeno’s heart seemingly skipped a beat at the way Donghyuck could see him, even through the two way glass. “You seem fun. Would you see me again?”

“I... I can’t. I’m not supposed to be here. If you even mention I was here to anybody else, I’ll be fired.”

“Oh, boo.” Donghyuck sighed, pursing his lips in a kind of pout. “The moment I find somebody fun, this place takes it away from me. All the more reason for me to leave.”

“You can’t just leave.”

“Says who?”

“Says— .... Well, you’re here for a reason. You must be infected with something. There must be a reason you’re quarantined here.” Jeno swallowed thickly. “And it’s a serious facility. Nobody can get in or out without going through the proper channels.”

“Infected....” Donghyuck echoed. “You really have no idea why I’m here. What I am.” Tracing his finger in nonsensical shapes against the glass, Donghyuck sighed, before turning his back on Jeno and sliding down the window, then the wall, and sitting down so Jeno couldn’t see him anymore, but he could hear him. His breathing, the way he scraped his fingernails against the wall behind him.

Jeno felt pathetic asking, but he just had to bring it up.

“You won’t mention this to the others, will you?” Jeno said. Donghyuck snorted out a weak laugh.

“What would I benefit from telling those doctors anything?” Donghyuck sniffled. “They don’t even know I can speak. I’d much rather keep it that way.”

Jeno didn’t know whether to thank Donghyuck, or grill him about it, but he knew another security guard would be making the rounds pretty soon, and Jeno had to get out of here soon. Technically, he had found the answers to his questions, and yet, felt as though he was leaving with twenty more.

“Are you absolutely certain you won’t be able to come back?” Donghyuck asked. Jeno hummed.

“I... can’t. I’m just a college kid.”

Donghyuck acknowledged this with the click of his tongue, dismissing Jeno. They didn’t try talking any more than they already had, and despite Jeno having so many questions, he trusted Donghyuck not to mention it to the others. He swore he wouldn’t. That counted for something, didn’t it?

“How old do you think I am?”

Jeno turned to face the observation room once more, furrowed his brows. What kind of guessing game was this supposed to be?

“Look, I don’t have time to—”

“How. Old. Do you think. I am?” Donghyuck repeated. As he moved to stand up, Jeno found himself staring in awe of Donghyuck’s eyes. Weren’t they just brown a few minutes ago? Now they seemed... almost maroon in color.

“Aren’t we the same age? You look like you’re the same age as I am. Maybe a little younger.” Jeno sounded exasperated.

“And even though we’re the same age, you think I should be kept in this room?” Donghyuck pressed, and Jeno could feel the strange way Donghyuck’s words affected him. “You think, even for somebody who is infected, it’s okay for this... place to keep me hidden in a room like this?”

“Well... no. But I can’t do anything about it.”

“You can, though.” Donghyuck hummed pleasantly. “You could let me out of here. You could open that door, and let me out. Couldn’t you?”

Now, Jeno thought he was a fairly resilient man. There weren’t many times Jeno had been tempted so obviously, as he was now, but the way Donghyuck was speaking, or maybe the way he looked at him, or perhaps just the way his eyes gleamed when he looked right into Jeno’s eyes— every part of Donghyuck was enticing in a way that made Jeno feel like he couldn’t leave. Like he shouldn’t leave Donghyuck here.

“There’s alarms on the doors. They’ll go off, and security will show up. We’ll get caught.”

“I think you should let me take care of that.”

And for a split second, Jeno remembered all he wanted was to find out what was behind those two doors. That’s all he wanted. He wanted to see who or what was in there, and then go home, and do normal things, and keep his nose out of places where it didn’t belong. And Donghyuck was supposed to be behind glass he couldn’t even see Jeno through, and yet there he was, staring at him, looking into his eyes like he could tell exactly where he was, what he was doing.

Like Donghyuck had been waiting for him all this time. Waiting in the corner of that room, until that night, until Jeno could let him out.

“Please.”

Jeno was startled awake from his thoughts, felt like he could hear Donghyuck’s voice right beside his ear, and shivered before he finally turned, and found Donghyuck was still standing against the glass, his hand pressed up against the glass. Jeno took a step forward, before pressing his own against it.

“I’ll take care of you.”

Donghyuck said it so softly, and Jeno swore it wasn’t over the radio static of the observation room speakers, but in his own head.

“I’ll get you out,” Jeno said, and it sounded like a promise.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Jeno had only experienced a hangover headache once before, and it wasn’t nearly as excruciating as the migraine he had now, as he rolled over in bed and groaned low. He buried his head underneath a few pillows, still groaning, as if it helped the pain in any way at all.

God, Jeno didn’t remember last night. He didn’t remember coming home, or going to bed, or even watching his favorite drama. The tips of his fingers were cold, but the rest of his body was feverish, chills racking through his body and making him shudder through the sensation.

With the tempo of his heartbeat, he could practically hear his blood pumping, rushing and roaring through his veins. The acute awareness of his bodily functions made him mildly uncomfortable, but for now, all Jeno wanted was some water. And maybe some meds, if it meant he could get rid of this headache.

What even happened, Jeno wondered, as he swung his legs off over the edge of the bed, stood up and walked to his kitchen to find his pain pills and grab some water from the fridge. It was only after a moment that Jeno realized, despite living on one of the busiest streets in his city, he couldn’t hear a car, even the wind. Nothing rushing by to alert him that he was late for work already.

After tracking down some medicine and water, Jeno trudged back to bad, not even bothering to glance at the time. Whatever time it was, Jeno didn’t want to know. He just wanted to sleep for a few days... maybe a week.

But sleep would have to wait, as his phone rang. Pawing at it on his bed, he slid the answer button once he saw it was Mark calling him.

“Hello—”

“Jeno?!” Mark’s voice was obscenely loud, alarmingly sudden. Jeno cringed, pulled his phone away and held it at a safe distance.

“God,  _ what?” _ Jeno said, sure he sounded exasperated, or at the very least, a little more than annoyed at the way Mark just yelled at him all of a sudden.

“Where are you? I’ve been calling you for hours— I knocked on your door and you didn’t answer— are you  _ okay—” _

“Mark,” Jeno said, sternly, as he tried to catch his friend’s attention, but to no avail. Mark was already chattering, his voice getting lost in the throb of Jeno’s headache, his bones aching as he turned over on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. His blinds were drawn, so no light came in, and left Jeno to the comfortable solitude of relaxing in his room. Except for his friend, on the phone, yelling at him.

“—haven’t heard about the lab yet? And you—”

“Wait, what do you mean heard about the lab?” Jeno rubbed the exhaustion from his eyes, dared to glance at the alarm clock beside his bed. Fuck. He was so late for work.

“Dude, that’s the whole reason I’ve been calling you! Somebody—  _ something  _ attacked the lab. A bunch of people are dead— professors, and security guards, and researchers, and I-I thought you were there.”

A quick image flashed in Jeno’s mind. He winced with pain, grimaced as he sat up and rubbed the pain from his temples. Now that he was sitting up and had a chance to focus, he could see his room was in total disarray. Clothes strewn all over his bed, his tv, even on the floor, all of his drawers emptied out.

“Where are you?” Jeno groused.

“I’m at the research facility. Everyone is here— the news, all of the teachers from campus. Hey, have you called your dad? To make sure he’s all right?”

“I just woke up.”

“Well, you should call your dad. And then you should come down here. You  _ need  _ to see this. Text me when you get here.”

Jeno hummed, before hanging up, and taking a moment to gather himself. That was a lot of information to take in at once. The research facility was attacked, and a lot of the staff were casualties. He had to call his dad, and get out of bed and head down there, and address whatever it was he did last night that made him feel like a bag of bricks fell right on his head.

Another pulse of pain racked through Jeno’s mind. Goosebumps suddenly littered his skin, made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

Last night felt like a million years ago. The more Jeno tried to remember, the foggier his mind felt, the more his head throbbed.

For now, Jeno opted to call his dad, who answered on the third ring. It almost scared Jeno, but once he heard his father’s voice, and the way his father talked about the research facility, he felt just a touch more relieved, even if he couldn’t quite remember the other details, the things that mattered.

It wasn’t until a moment afterwards that Jeno realized every time he thought of last night, other than the throb in his head, there was a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, like it was turning and twisting inside of him at just the memory alone. Another set of goosebumps rushed across the planes of Jeno’s arms, his thighs, and he quickly came to his senses, hopped out of bed. Maybe getting out of this room would help jog his memory a little bit.

  
  
  


When Jeno stepped outside and felt the sunlight wash over his face, he felt a sharp sting at his wrist.

  
  
  


Mark was right; there were news vans surrounding the research facility’s gates, crowds of people gathered behind the yellow tape. Police littered the vicinity, keeping people from getting inside— and probably for good reason. The closer Jeno got, the more he saw stretchers, slowly being pulled out through the front and side doors, each of them being loaded into ambulances.

“Hey!”

Jeno jumped at the sound of a voice from the crowd, immediately looking for the source and finding Mark waving his hand, slowly moving out of the crowd and walking towards him. Jeno stuffed his hands in his pockets, ignored the way his right wrist ached, the closer he moved towards the building.

“Hey. You were right. What the hell happened?”

“All I’ve heard is gossip. The news has no idea what’s going on yet, either. Apparently the chief of police is going to make a statement to all of them in a little bit.” Mark stopped to rub the back of his neck, looking around to see if other people were near them. “But, dude, this is like, the third round of ambulances that came around to take people away. Some of them had their lights going, so that was... slightly less terrifying than the ones that didn’t.”

Both of them turned to face the facility, Jeno scanning over the crowd and finding no familiar faces. He hoped all of his colleagues, or at least, most of them from the facility were safe. He wondered if professor Kun was safe.

Wait. Jeno’s head throbbed suddenly, the thought of Qian Kun suddenly jogging his memory and reminding him of how Jeno had found his keycard in the facility, just sitting on the floor. The keycard. It... did something. Got Jeno into a place he wasn’t allowed to be in.

“Why did you wake up so late? What were you doing last night?”

Jeno didn’t miss the way Mark side eyed him, as if studying his reactions for something suspicious.

“I... don’t remember.”

“What?!”

“Shut up,” Jeno shot back, his face growing hot. “I really don’t remember what I was doing. I remember being at work, and... I remember talking to a professor I’d never met before. And I remember thinking I should head home. After that... I just get fuzzy ideas. Like, falling into my bed, passing out.” Jeno paused, furrowed his brows. “My room was a fucking disaster this morning, too. Clothes everywhere.”

“Clothes,” Mark said, plainly. Jeno nodded. “Like, you were trying to change into new clothes.”

“Mark, if you’re going to insinuate I’m a murderer, at least make it more slick,” Jeno snapped. “I didn’t do anything last night. I just don’t remember. Maybe I went out and got wasted or something.”

Mark lifted his hands up from his side defensively, as if saying he wasn’t trying to say anything about Jeno’s suspiciously foggy memories.

“Hopefully you remember by the time the cops get in touch with you. They’re gonna do that, you know. They’re gonna call you and ask where you were.”

“I know,” Jeno grumbled.

Mark stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, watched with bated breath as more stretchers came out from the research facility. Jeno’s heart twinged at the sight of them. His dad was okay, at least, but all these poor people.... Who the hell did all this?

Jeno hardly realized there was somebody pushing past the crowd, trying to get away from the research facility. They came out on the other side, a mask pulled over their face, and hoodie drawn up over their hair. Maybe it was an idol or something, although, that wouldn’t make sense considering they weren’t in Seoul or anything.

For a moment, Jeno let his eyes wander, but he was drawn back to that person walking out of the crowd. Their hoodie.... Jeno traced his eyes over the design on the back of it. It had his name, and the number of the soccer team he used to play on in middle school. That was  _ his  _ hoodie.

“What the hell...?” Jeno followed that person, as Mark noticed Jeno’s grumbling.

“What is it?”

“It’s... it’s nothing. Sorry. Hey, I gotta go call my parents, I’ll see you later.”

“Wait, you’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I really....” Jeno trailed off, walking after the person, who was now picking up their pace, almost as if they were trying to get lost in the crowd of people around them. Jeno somehow kept track of them, trying his hardest to keep up, apologizing to every person he bumped into.

There was something drawing Jeno to this person. Something magnetic, something so strong, all Jeno could think about was pursuing them, until they came out to a street Jeno didn’t know. Looking to his left, then to his right, he barely caught sight of that person turning the corner at a small alleyway. If this were any other situation, any other day, any other  _ person,  _ Jeno might have thought twice. His feet moved faster than his brain could process it, as he drew closer to the alleyway, turned and found it empty.

Damn. He must have lost that person. Well.... Maybe that was for the best. After all, Jeno didn’t  _ really  _ know why he was going after them. He just... had to. And maybe he misread the hoodie! Or maybe it was a coincidence. A very strange coincidence.

But checking the alleyway wouldn’t hurt. Heading down there, Jeno kept his hands on his phone, just in case he needed to call anyone, though he doubted anybody was going to attack him in broad daylight. Knock on wood, though.

“Hello?” Jeno called out, as if anybody would really answer him. Still, he found the silence... reassuring, almost.

Letting out a small sigh, Jeno let his muscles go lax, didn’t realize he was on the defensive so much. Maybe this morning was still bothering him, and the fact that he couldn’t remember last night all that clearly, and... all these weird feelings. The way goosebumps littered his skin when he saw the research facility, or how his stomach twisted when each stretcher came out, one by one.

“You really  _ did  _ follow me out here.”

Jeno jumped at the sound of a voice behind him, turned too quick for his own good and lost his footing from underneath him. Falling to the ground, he looked up, to see that figure in the hoodie, mask still drawn over most of their face.

“I didn’t think the bite would do that much. It was such a small one.”

“W-what?”

The person hummed, crouching in front of Jeno.

“I guess your memory must still be suffering the effects of it. Sheesh. At least some of it worked.”

Once Jeno heard the lilt of this person’s voice, the way their tone seemed so delicate, so soft, he felt a shiver run down the knobs of his spine, goosebumps spreading on his arms and the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.

“Don’t remember last night a lick, do you?”

“Why are you in my clothes? My hoodie? Why were you at the research facility?”

The person pulled the mask from their face, and revealed they were a young man, around the same age as Jeno. Despite not knowing who he was, Jeno could feel his heart reacting, adrenaline rushing through his body. He  _ knew  _ this person, he knew them. They weren’t a person, they were something else, they were—

“I’ll remind you, then,” he said, setting his hand on Jeno’s chest, before balling his fist in with the collar of Jeno’s shirt and pulling him close. Jeno could hardly pull away, before he felt something hot, something sharp, stinging settling in at the base of his throat, before spreading through his veins and making him go numb.

Then everything. Everything all at once— last night, the bite at his wrist, why his clothes were all a mess— and his name.  _ His  _ name.

How Jeno helped this infected subject escape from the research facility. Donghyuck. Lee Donghyuck, same age as Jeno, and how, once they reached security, Donghyuck killed them. They hardly stood a chance against him, didn’t even know he was there. Then they ran, to Jeno’s apartment, and Jeno lent Donghyuck some of his clothes.

_ “Helping me is a death sentence if they find out,”  _ Donghyuck had said, and Jeno couldn’t help but shrug.

_ “Not helping you wasn’t an option.” _

And Donghyuck, out of some sick mercy, tried to take the memories away from Jeno. How he said the bite wouldn’t do anything but demonstrate what he was, and yet, Jeno felt woozy, fell down in his bed, and passed out a moment after.

After that, Jeno simply remembered sleeping.

And now, Donghyuck was in front of him, let his shirt go and pulled back from him. Thumbing a drop of blood from his lip, Donghyuck sat back, eyeing Jeno.

“You shouldn’t have followed me.”

Jeno blinked the shock from his eyes, before meeting Donghyuck’s gaze.

“You shouldn’t have stolen  _ that  _ hoodie of all of them,” Jeno said back, sitting up against the alley wall behind him and pulling his knees into his chest. “It has my name on it.”

Donghyuck grimaced, rolled his eyes.

“I was trying to get out of your home before anybody noticed.”

Jeno nodded, before looking down at his hands, his fingers, the bandage on his wrist.

“You... came back to the facility, didn’t you?”

He hardly needed to ask, but wanted to hear Donghyuck say it anyways. Donghyuck hummed, then nodded his head a beat after.

“You came back to hurt them.”

Donghyuck hardly hesitated to speak. “I wanted them dead.”

“Why?!”

“Before I answer, I want to ask you something.”

Jeno swallowed thickly against the ball in his throat.

“You helped me escape, even though you knew I was... infected, with something. You watched me kill the security guards, and didn’t say anything. You welcomed me into your home before we walked in. You let me bite your wrist, and yet, you still haven’t acknowledged what I am.” 

Donghyuck seemed to get closer with every word, and yet, he hadn’t moved. Jeno looked up, met Donghyuck’s gaze for the first time. His eyes weren’t maroon, they were still a deep brown. Mildly reassuring, at the very least.

“What am I?” Donghyuck said.

“You know what you are.”

“I want to hear you say it,” Donghyuck snapped immediately, made Jeno cower.

“You... you’re a monster,” Jeno said, and at this, Donghyuck laughed immediately.

“That could be said for humans, as well. No. I want to know what I  _ am.” _ Donghyuck enunciated.

Jeno huffed, could feel Donghyuck growing impatient with him. Maybe he shouldn’t test Donghyuck on this kind of thing right now.

“A vampire.”

The smile that graced Donghyuck’s face after hearing the word seemed almost out of place, but Jeno could feel the relief wash over his body.

“You’ve known from the moment you read my file in that room,” Donghyuck said, lifting his hand from his side and cupping Jeno’s face, “that I wasn’t human. You called me ‘infected’, like I could be cured.”

All Jeno could focus on was the warmth of Donghyuck’s hand, how surprisingly hot it felt.

“Those others kept me locked in that room. Performed tests, starved me, promised they would release me. Lied to my face, but promised salvation.” Donghyuck squeezed Jeno’s face. “Does that sound like  _ I’m  _ the monster?”

Jeno didn’t want to answer. Donghyuck didn’t seem interested anyway.

“They would have killed me at the end of their trials, anyway. Either through their research, or purposely, to keep me hidden, I would have died in that room... if it weren’t for you. Stumbling in and opening the door... trusting me.” Donghyuck paused to pull his hand away. Jeno almost protested. “That is why I returned to the facility once we escaped. I had to kill them. If not, they would have released information on me, on what I am. I forced them to remove any traces I had been locked in that place. And then I killed them.”

Jeno wasn’t prepared for the next comment either.

“I also had to feed, and I thought two birds... one stone. At least they didn’t die in vain.”

That alone should have sent Jeno into a panic attack, and yet, he kept himself calm, only felt his heart thudding in his chest, thrumming in his ears. This would all be over soon, right? Somehow, someway.

“How are you... out in the day?”

“The hoodie helps.” Donghyuck pulled the sleeve up, revealed his skin to a small patch of light beside them. His skin sizzled a moment after, to which he flinched and pulled away. Jeno jumped and pulled the sleeve back down over his arm at the same time, to which Donghyuck looked at Jeno, studying his expression. “Why do you help me?”

Wordlessly, Jeno shrugged.

“Are you going to kill me?” Jeno asked, and immediately felt stupid when Donghyuck snorted out a laugh in his face.

“Kill you? Why would I do that?”

“Because I know what you are. What you did!”

“And you also helped me,” replied Donghyuck. “Not to mention, we are bonded for the time being.”

“Bonded?” Jeno said. Donghyuck let one of his hands rest on the bandage wrapped around Jeno’s wrist, while the other went to his throat and thumbed at the new injury there.

“I bit you. Didn’t turn you, but I did leave something behind. Until your body flushes it out, we’re one.”

“Flushes it out.... Did you poison me or something?”

“Almost. The neurotoxin I left behind is what wiped your memory from last night, as well as what sent you into that deep sleep. I can only take so much of it back by feeding from you.”

The silence that followed was... mildly off putting. Jeno just didn’t know what to say anymore. Should he thank Donghyuck for not killing him, his family, or should he run right out of the alley screaming, hoping somebody will believe him? Donghyuck stood up, readjusted the hoodie so the sun stayed away from any exposed flesh, as well as pulled the mask back to cover the lower half of his face.

“You know, I’d never seen you in the observation room of the cell I was in,” Donghyuck said, offering his hand to Jeno. “That night was the first time I’d seen your face.”

“Yeah?” Jeno said, taking Donghyuck’s hand and standing up with one smooth movement. His head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, as he sighed and shut his eyes, rubbing his temples.

“You’d never been back there. Why did you go?”

Jeno didn’t know how to answer that, other than the only way he felt was right.

“I just felt drawn to that place.”

Jeno opened his eyes and looked at Donghyuck, his face seeming too soft to be a murderer, to be a vampire.

“I guess... in a way, I was supposed to find you. That’s what it felt like, anyway.” Jeno felt a little embarrassed to be saying all this, but he guessed there wasn’t a whole lot to be embarrassed about in front of Donghyuck. “Where are you going to go? Now that you’re out?”

“I  _ do  _ have a home,” Donghyuck remarked. “I’m sure the others are worried.”

“Others?” Jeno said, following Donghyuck out of the alley, as Donghyuck practically left him in the dust. “There’s more of you?”

“Silly Jeno,” Donghyuck said, turning and tapping Jeno on the nose. “There’s only one of  _ me.” _

“There’s more... more vampires?”

Donghyuck grinned, and for a moment, Jeno forgot the way his stomach turned at the idea of others, of people running around the city and him not  _ knowing  _ who they were.

“I suppose you’ll just have to find them, if you’re so interested.” Donghyuck lifted Jeno’s hand from his side, poked at the bandage, then gestured towards the bite on his neck. “Once these have healed over, our bond will fade. You’ll be back to normal.”

“And my memories?”

“Those will still be fuzzy. I thought I was doing the humane thing by helping you forget,” Donghyuck admitted, albeit it sheepishly. “I have been wrong before.”

“Well, maybe forgetting the rest of it helped,” Jeno said, but looked at Donghyuck. “Will I forget you?”

“Wouldn’t you rather forget me?” Donghyuck said, but felt a surge of surprise when Jeno shook his head.

“Of course I don’t want that.” Jeno poked at Donghyuck’s chest. “You’re still wearing my hoodie, you know.”

At this, they both laughed, relief washing over them both. Donghyuck couldn’t help smiling, even as Jeno let his smile fade a little.

“I would like to research you more,” Jeno said, but lifted a hand defensively when Donghyuck grimaced, “as... as a person. Not as a subject.”

“That.... I can’t.”

“Why not?” Jeno said. Donghyuck shook his head.

“It’s too much contact. People will notice.” Donghyuck looked Jeno up and down. “You’ll grow attached. I can’t do that either.”

“You’re the one who attached us together first,” Jeno pointed out. “I just... want to know why I felt so... connected to you.”

Despite the explanation, Donghyuck declined once more. Jeno didn’t even get to say goodbye, really, as Donghyuck pulled away from him, thanked him for his help once more, and headed down the street, before disappearing into a crowd of people, and completely a moment afterwards.

  
  
  


If somebody asked Jeno the details on the incident that night at the research facility, Jeno could feel his brain go a little fuzzy, as he remembered hazy details of that night, like what he wore, when he went home, how he slept that night. He had made up an alibi for that night, and the police were satisfied with his answers. Everything seemed to go by smoothly after that.

But the one thing Jeno couldn’t forget, no matter how hard he tried, was Donghyuck. The young man he helped, the one who felt so warm to the touch, the one who bit his wrist and made him forget. The person he was so drawn to from the second he found out of his existence.

Donghyuck lingered in his memory like a parasite, like a plague, like an addiction gnawing away at his brain.

Jeno had no way of contacting him, and despite hoping he would find him in a crowd of people, or maybe on the train when he took trips to Seoul, he never felt that tug on his body the way he did when he saw Donghyuck.

It wasn’t until one night in late winter, when Jeno came home from a late class, that he found a small package at the front desk of his apartment complex, rushing to his apartment to open it up.

Inside sat a black hoodie, but not his. Not his soccer hoodie. A small note accompanied it.

_ I want to say sorry for not returning your hoodie. For some reason, I just can’t bring myself to do it. Please accept this replacement. _

_ If you’re still interested in research, I’ve changed my mind. I would like to help. _

_ — L.D. _

Jeno pulled the sweater out of the box, up to his face, took a long inhale of it.

This wasn’t a new hoodie. It smelled like Donghyuck. It felt worn. This _was_ Donghyuck’s.

Wondering how long it would take for him to bump into Donghyuck, Jeno pulled the hoodie on over his head, walked to his kitchen, and heated up some food.

At the front door, somebody knocked three times.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! please let me know about mistakes in spelling or errors in prose, as im super new to this ship and definitely out of practice!
> 
> [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/spicy_boyfriend) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/spicyboyfriend)


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